JetBlue to add domestic first-class cabin, airline confirms

11.12.2024 - 16:21 / thepointsguy.com / John F.Kennedy / Joanna Geraghty / Marty St George / St George

The rumors are true: JetBlue is moving forward with plans to add a domestic-style first-class cabin to its planes.

The New York-based carrier plans to debut domestic first-class seats by 2026, a spokesperson for the airline told TPG Wednesday.

CEO Joanna Geraghty first confirmed the plans in an interview with the Wall Street Journal Wednesday, citing plans for traditional domestic first class-style recliners.

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The seats, JetBlue told TPG, will be arranged in a two-by-two configuration in the first two or three rows (depending on the aircraft type) of planes that don't currently offer a Mint cabin.

That word comes just about a month after JetBlue president Marty St. George acknowledged the carrier was considering a new premium domestic cabin, speaking at an industry conference, TPG reported on Nov. 20.

"It's certainly something we've thought about," St. George said at the Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas.

Now, the airline is confirming its plans to move forward with the new high-end seats which, it says, will priced at "affordable fare[s]."

It's been a busy week for JetBlue. On Monday, TPG reported the carrier had slashed a handful of routes, continuing with what's been a yearlong network shakeup amid its push to return the carrier to profitability for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic.

Then, on Tuesday, the airline announced it would expand its footprint in Europe in 2026, launching new seasonal service from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to Edinburgh and Madrid — the latter of which will be an all-new European destination for the carrier.

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All this comes as JetBlue is hoping to up its premium game. In September, the airline announced it would debut its first-ever airport lounges at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), and in Boston, beginning in late 2025.

The airline has budgeted $400 million for premium product initiatives between 2025 and 2027 in hopes of winning over big-spending leisure travelers.

As part of that push, Wall Street analysts and industry insiders have speculated, for months, about whether JetBlue might choose to add a domestic-style first-class cabin to its planes.

Across the U.S. airline industry, carriers have moved quickly, in recent months, to boost their premium seating options as travelers have flocked to pay extra for more space. Most recently, Frontier Airlines last week revealed plans to begin adding first-class-style seats to its jets in 2025. Southwest Airlines previously announced its own extra-legroom seats.

Of course, JetBlue already offers a bona fide